Searching for Forever Homes

Catherine Powers. Photo by Donna Hailson.

In Episode 16 of ON THE ROAD WITH MAC AND MOLLY, we visit with Catherine Powers, Animal Control Officer for Curry County on the southern coast of Oregon. From a heart filled with passion and compassion, Catherine shares how she was drawn into this work. As she offers a rundown of the responsibilities she shoulders, it quickly becomes clear that the job calls for a special breed of caregiver. Any given day will find Catherine responding to emergency calls; rescuing the endangered; attending to dog licensing; providing health-building food, clean shelter and loving care for abandoned animals; seeking safe and permanent homes for the same; overseeing volunteers and much more.

Photo by Donna Hailson.

There's no "typical day" as each hour is filled with a new challenge. Deep heartbreak and great joy come with the territory. On a recent visit, I was met by a charming and smart-as-a-whip young dog that was yielded by a serviceman as he was preparing to deploy. Close by were a half-dozen puppies (a Rottweiler/Labrador Retriever mix) also waiting for adoption. Playful Pit Bull Terrier Gunner danced a game of tug of war with Catherine and a timid Shepherd mix, named Irie, that had come in to the shelter with injuries, warily inched her way toward me.

In this episode, Catherine shares her vision for the ideal animal shelter and details a clever way she has found to help fund her animal rescue efforts: providing daycare and overnight boarding for dogs who already have pet parents.

Photo by Donna Hailson.

Jerry's Jets on the Rugged Rogue River

One of Jerry's Jets speeding down the Rogue River.
Photo by Donna Hailson.

Jerry’s Rogue Jets, now Oregon’s only mail boat outfit, has come a long way since the days of pike poles and sails. The Gold Beach-based company still delivers the mail up stream on the Rogue River but now, carried even more often on the shallow-draft vessels, are vacationers seeking adventure. The fully-loaded 32- to 42-foot boats can carry 38 to 65 passengers and are able to navigate in depths of as little as eight inches of water.

The company dates one part of its history back to three brothers: one who had an ability to entertain, one who was a boat designer and one who was a boat pilot. Working off of a jet propulsion system originated in 1954 by Sir William Hamilton in New Zealand and the Berkeley Pump Company in California, Alden Boice created a performance hull capable of handling the rocky shallows of the Rogue. His brother Jerry launched a company -- Jerry’s Rogue Jet Boats – in 1958 and their brother Court served as their first pilot. A year ago in March, Jerry's purchased its one competitor, the Rogue River Mail Boat Company that had been in existence since 1895.

Coming into the rapids. Photo by Gene Hailson.

Now, with a combined fleet of 15 vessels, Jerry’s nature-based jet boat trips on Oregon’s “Wild & Scenic” Rogue River are a must do for 800 or more passengers per day in high season and more than 30,000 coastal travelers each year. On offer on the river is a blend of interpretive narration, meal stops at riverside lodges, rugged scenery, abundant wildlife, Pacific coastal estuary, and adventurous whitewater jet boating.

In Episode 15 of On the Road with Mac and Molly, I speak with Nic McNair who owns the company along with his brother Scott, mother Cherie, and father Bill (the only original interest holder still attached to Jerry’s). From Nic, we learn how jet boats operate over the recreational, scenic and wilderness sections of the Rogue. We hear about some of the boatmen who have grown up alongside these waters and we marvel at the wildlife that can be seen along the banks and in the river.

Black Bear on the banks of the Rogue.
Photo by Donna Hailson.

In our time together, I also share from my own and Gene’s experience of the 104-mile round trip “Wilderness Whitewater Adventure” that takes folks up to Blossom Bar Rapid, which is as far as is navigable by jet boat. The journey takes in all that is found in Jerry’s shorter trips: the 64-mile “Historic Mail Route,” that meanders along the Pacific Coastal Estuary, with its magnificent snowy egrets, black bears and bald eagles, playful otters and black-tailed deer, and the 80-mile “Whitewater Excursion,” where guests race over 2-Mile Rapid, Shasta Coasta Rapid, Wildcat Rapid, Old Diggins Riffle, Fosters Rapid and Watson Creek Rapid. We end with a note about Cherie’s border collie Rogue who has maneuvered herself into position as Jerry’s mascot, keeping guests entertained while they’re waiting to board the jet boats.

For more on our life as Rubber Hobos, traveling about the country in a rubber-tired vehicle, visit  http://www.rubberhobos.com.

Photo by Donna Hailson.

The Gray Wolves of Wolf Hollow

Z Soffron with one of the wolves of Wolf Hollow

The North American Gray Wolf has been protected by the Endangered Species Act since shortly after the law was passed in 1973. But now, in an unprecedented move, Congress has delisted the Gray Wolf in Idaho, Montana and parts of three other states. The congressional rider, introduced last April as part of a budget bill, is now being challenged in a Missoula, Montana courtroom. Several environmental groups (The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Clearwater, and WildEarth Guardians) have banded together to fight the delisting, claiming that Congress violated the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers doctrine when it ordered the wolf delisted and blocked future court review of that decision. Wolf hunting seasons have been authorized for this fall and the plan, at this moment, according to a televised news report here in Idaho last night, is to reduce the population -- currently estimated at 1,700 -- to 150.

In Episode 14 of ON THE ROAD WITH MAC AND MOLLY, I speak with Joni Soffron. In 1988, Joni and her husband Paul founded the Ipswich, Massachusetts-based North American Wolf Foundation and Wolf Hollow with the mission of preserving the wolf in the wild through education and exposure. Paul died a few years ago but Joni and son Z have continued this work. 

We’ll hear from Joni about life at Wolf Hollow where, on this multi-acre site abutting marshland, visitors can meet the resident wolves – at close hand -- and observe how a wolf pack functions. Wolves are extraordinarily social creatures and, as we’ll learn in this program, their pack dynamics are fascinating. In many ways, wolf pack organization parallels that of a human family. Wolves are devoted to their young and five new puppies (three males and two females) have recently been added to the Wolf Hollow mix. We’ll hear how the pups are settling in, how wolves are faring in the wild, and how we can help support these magnificent creatures.

Photos provided by Wolf Hollow.

Perfectly Goode: Full-time RVer and Artist Debbie Goode

Debbie Goode with Cosmo and Belle.
Photo provided by Debbie Goode.

On a recent visit to Colorado Springs, Colorado, Gene, Mac, Molly and I had the pleasure of staying at the Mountaindale Cabins and RV Resort. This 45-acre property is situated in the beautiful Pikes Peak region and we heartily recommend it for its beautifully maintained grounds, level campsites, helpful staff and nicely-sized dog play yard.

Almost immediately upon our arrival at Mountaindale, we had the additional pleasure of meeting our next door neighbors, Debbie and Bill Goode, of Lafayette, Indiana. These full-time RVers share quarters with two wire-haired fox terriers, Cosmo and Belle.  Debbie took note of our Mac and Molly and asked if she might photograph them. 

Photo provided by Debbie Goode.

I came to discover, through the chats that followed, that Debbie is a pet and wildlife artist – a marvelous one at that – and she deemed Mac and Molly good subjects for an artistic rendering.

In Episode 13, Debbie discusses her life as an artist and as a full-time RVer. What inspires her? What makes a good subject? As an artist, how does she see and how does she carry what she sees to her canvases? What is her process and why does she focus on pets and wildlife? All that and more in this episode of ON THE ROAD WITH MAC AND MOLLY.

Photo provided by Debbie Goode.

You can follow Debbie's process and see more of her work at 

www.perfectlygoode.blogspot.com.

Threats to Pets in the American Southwest

Photo by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In Episode 12 of ON THE ROAD WITH MAC AND MOLLY, I visit with San Antonio, Texas veterinarian Rae Dishinger, of the Alamo Dog and Cat Hospital, who introduces us to some of the “Threats to Pets” specific to the American Southwest.

As Gene and I have been moving about the country with Mac and Molly, we have had to be on guard against potential perils all along the way. Here, in the West, we’ve been on the look out for rattlers and copperheads, coyotes and bobcats, feral hogs and even birds of prey. 

On occasion, we’ve been too late to keep Mac from rolling in burro poop and to keep Molly from eating cow pies. We’ve had to have both of the dogs treated for kennel cough even though they’d been vaccinated against this respiratory illness in the east. We discovered that, just as there are numerous variants of human flu, there are many strains of kennel cough and you can’t vaccinate against them all.

Rae tells us what wild animals and toxic plants may be encountered in the Southwest and offers advice on dealing with climatic changes (particularly the intense heat and humidity in this part of the world). She also shares the story of how her own beloved dog succumbed to the bite of a rattler. One other surprising note: Lyme Disease, which is of such concern in the East, has now reared its ugly head in some parts of the Southwest.

In future episodes of this multi-part “Threats to Pets” series, which will be interspersed through shows on unrelated topics, I’ll be speaking with veterinarians in other regions of the country who will discuss ways to protect our pets from threats specific to each of those regions. As noted in the launch of the series, we’ll learn from these folks about external and internal parasites; infectious diseases; insects, wild animals; plants; toxins and poisons found in and around our homes and in various places we may visit while traveling on the road.

For more on our adventures as "Rubber Hobos," visit http://www.rubberhobos.com.

Threats to Pets

Western Diamondback Snake. Photo by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In Episode 11, we launch into a multi-part series entitled, “Threats to Pets.” As my husband Gene and I have been traveling about the country with our two Old English Sheepdogs – Mac and Molly – we have encountered potential perils all along the way. Speaking just of wildlife: in Louisiana, we were warned to take care walking near a lake because the denizens therein – the alligators – had developed a special appreciation for “dog.” In Colorado, the concerns were over bears and mountain lions. In South Dakota: prairie dogs carrying the bubonic plague. In Texas: rattlesnakes.

It was in San Antonio, Texas that veterinarian Rae Dishinger suggested that Mac and Molly receive rattlesnake vaccine. In the event of a bite, she said, the vaccine would slow the spread of the venom giving us additional time to get our loved one to a veterinarian. Rattlers are of special concern to Rae as her own dog died as the result of a snake bite. Rae also treated Mac and Molly when they contracted kennel cough. Our veterinarian in Pennsylvania and we had been careful to have the dogs vaccinated against this respiratory illness before we hit the road but, we learned, just as there are many different strains of human flu, there are many strains of kennel cough, and you can’t vaccinate against them all.

Getting us started with this series will be veterinary toxicology consultant Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, former Vice President of the ASPCA’s Poison Control Center. In this first episode in the series, she’ll identify for us some of the common toxins and poisons found in and around our homes and on the road – on roadsides and at rest areas, campgrounds and dog parks --wherever we may be in the country. She’ll offer suggestions on what to pack for our pets when we take them on the road and she’ll share the story of how her own border terrier had to be treated for intoxication after eating something he found on the ground at a rest stop.

In future episodes, we’ll hear from veterinarians in several regions of the country who will instruct us in ways to protect our pets from threats specific to each of those regions. From these folks, we’ll learn about parasites (external and internal); infectious diseases; insects, wild animals; plants; and toxins and poisons found in and around our homes and in various places we may visit while on the road.

For more on our adventures as Rubber Hobos, visit http://www.rubberhobos.com. 

Hank the Cowdog

In Episode 10, our guest is John Erickson, author of the Hank the Cowdog series of humorous mystery books for children. More than 7.5 million copies of Erickson’s books have been sold since 1983. His 57th volume – The Disappearance of Drover -- was just released as was the audio version of the book.

John writes the Hank books from the point of view of a dog, a dog who can’t quite understand why he’s so misunderstood. The volumes are filled with humor, western parlance, and details that could only be provided by one who lives the life of a small-town rancher.

Titles include The Case of the Incredible Priceless Corncob; The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse; The Case of the Dinosaur Birds; and The Case of the Car-Barkaholic Dog. Along for the ride with the bumbling Hank in these stories are the hilariously-written cowboy Slim; ranch owners Sally May and High Loper; Hank’s buddy, the loyal, yet timid, mutt Drover; and sworn enemies like Hank’s chief competitor for table scraps, Pete the Barncat.

John Erickson with his horse Nocona.
Photo provided by John Erickson.

John speaks to us from his home in Perryton, Texas. At the time of the interview, a group of homeschooled junior high and high school students (who'd been raised on Hank the Cowdog stories) were with him learning about the process of writing.

John Erickson with a group of homeschooled students.
Photo provided by John Erickson.

Also on the show are Phil and Amy Kruse, owners of the Circle View Ranch in Interior, South Dakota, who share how they were inspired by John’s books to name their own border collie and "head of ranch security," Hank the Cowdog.

Hank the Cowdog of Circle
View Ranch. Photo provided
by Phil and Amy Kruse.

Amy and Phil Kruse
with Lace, Phil's horse.
Photo provided by
Phil and Amy Kruse.